Last year, the first verdict against Monsanto, the primary manufacturer of Roundup came in for $289 million. DeWayne Johnson, the first of hundreds of litigants nationwide to be heard in court for their claims against Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup, is currently dying from his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Years of exposure to Roundup were found to be a significant contributing factor. The cost to uninformed consumers significantly exposed to Roundup has been the development of cancers including NHL and multiple myeloma (a bone cancer). This verdict has paved the way for what promises to be years of contentious litigation for Monsanto, and potentially extreme costs for their product.
The most recent verdict, the third so far, in May 2019, saw the jury award over $2 billion to a couple who both developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from their lifelong use of Roundup. Studies on glyphosate have reached differing conclusions on carcinogenicity to humans and in 2015 the World Health Organization’s International Agency on Research for Cancer found glyphosate to be “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The California attorney who represented Alva and Alberta Pilliod, argued in court that a billion-dollar judgment would send a message to the chemical giant. Last year’s $289 million judgment was reduced at the judge’s suggestion, but a subsequent suit also landed an $80 million award, and with hundreds of suits still pending, the adverse to Monsanto verdicts may become routine.
If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of a product, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211.